Flaco and Vitor Roque click, new system lifts Palmeiras attack 🚀 | OneFootball

Coach Abel Ferreira seems to have found (another) solution to elevate the attack level of Palmeiras. The Portuguese has started testing the duo “Flaco-Roque” in the attack. The two forwards have complementary characteristics and have meshed well together at Alviverde.

Taller, Flaco López stands out for his power in aerial balls, his presence in the box, and accurate finishes. On the other hand, Vitor Roque relies more on speed bursts, dribbling, and shows greater creative ability. Since they started playing side by side, the two tend to pose a constant threat to opposing defenses.

Not surprisingly, Flaco and Vitor Roque, directly or indirectly, participated in 10 out of 11 goals of Palmeiras since the scheme change, either as a duo or individually.

Abel began testing the tactical scheme with two center-forwards from the second half of the match against Ceará. Flaco López entered at the 12th minute of the final stage and took a penalty to level the score. Minutes later, it was Vitor Roque's turn to score and turn the game in favor of Palmeiras.

The formation with two forwards seems to have pleased the Alviverde coach, who bet on the same strategy against Universitario-PER, in the first leg of the Libertadores round of 16. In that match, the rout started early: Flaco López combined with Vitor Roque, who was brought down in the box and awarded a penalty. Gustavo Gómez converted.

During the rest of the match, the duo “Flaco-Roque” shone. The Argentine scored for the first time with an assist from the Brazilian. Then, it was Vitor's turn to score. Towards the end of the second half, number 42 took advantage of the rebound and scored his second goal of the game.

Against Botafogo, Vitor Roque assisted Felipe Anderson to score the winning goal. Subsequently, in the 3-0 victory over Sport, Flaco López scored a brace with two passes from number 9: one lofted and another crossed to the far post.

Now, it remains to be seen how much more joy the duo “Flaco-Roque” will bring to Palmeiras until the end of the year. The Argentine is looking to break his personal record of goals in a single season with the Verdão shirt, while the Brazilian seeks to surpass the number of balls in the net from his time at Real Betis, Spain.

With Flaco and Vitor Roque available, Palmeiras returns to the pitch only on the next September 13, when they host Internacional, for the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship. The ball rolls at 6:30 PM (Brasília time), on the pitch of Allianz Parque.

See the (direct and indirect) participations of Flaco López and Vitor Roque since the scheme change:

Next Palmeiras matches

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.